Sojourner House is a nonprofit organization founded in 1976 by Brown University students concerned about what was then a silent epidemic, domestic violence. The students’ actions were timely, since the first few domestic violence shelters opened in the United States in the early 1970s. Thanks to the efforts of our many supporters, during the past 35 years Sojourner House has grown from a part-time, all-volunteer hotline into a provider of comprehensive services available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to victims of abuse. Throughout the years, Sojourner House’s Board, staff, volunteers, and other supporters have consistently worked to strengthen current agency programs while diligently planning for the future. We’ve taken steps to determine how best to prioritize our future efforts to help those who are most isolated due to abuse, as well as efforts to improve systemic and institutional responses to people in abusive relationships.

Every day we receive requests for assistance from individuals in abusive relationships. Thanks to our supporters, we are able to offer them support groups, emergency shelter, transitional housing, sexual health advocacy, emotional support, counseling, referrals to over 50 other community partners providing additional assistance, and more. Last year we assisted more than 3,000 new clients. Our supporters make our work to end domestic violence possible.

Sojourner House was named after Sojourner Truth, the courageous 19th-century slave who became an abolitionist, speaking on behalf of women and slaves as she traveled throughout the U.S. Her message of strength and freedom inspires our work, as we guide domestic violence victims through some of the toughest times of their lives. We’ve designed our programs so that our clients have many options to choose from, allowing them to build strength and independence as they recover from abuse.

Our goal is to help our clients rebuild their lives, piece by piece, through a variety of services. Our prevention and education programs work within Rhode Island communities, teaching important information on domestic abuse. We also work to raise awareness on many issues related to domestic violence: teen violence, HIV/AIDS prevention, elder abuse, and LGBTQ partner abuse. For these areas, Sojourner House has created specialized services.

All our programs work from the premise that violence is an unacceptable means to solving interpersonal conflict, and we encourage only non-violent methods of working out conflicts. To learn more about our programs, please use the navigation buttons at the top.

"That man over there says that women need to be helped into carriages, and lifted over ditches and to have the best place everywhere. Nobody ever helps me into carriages, or over mudpuddles, or gives me any best place! And ar’n’t I a woman? I could work as much and eat as much as a man-when I could get it-and bear the lash as well! And ar’n’t I a woman?."
-Sojourner Truth